• President Donald Trump said his administration would sanction Chinese officials over their actions in Hong Kong and that the U.S. would sever ties with the World Health Organization. • Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that New York City is on track to begin the first phase of reopening on June 8. • Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday indicated he was a little less tense about the economy and the coronavirus crisis than he was during the early days of the pandemic, but said he is still concerned about a potential “second wave” of the outbreak.

Shares of Big Lots Inc. shot up 15% toward a 1 1/2-year high in premarket trading Friday, after the discount retailer reported a fiscal first-quarter profit that was well above expectations and provided an upbeat outlook, as same-store sales got a boost amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Net income for the quarter to May 2 rose to $49.3 million, or $1.26 a share, from $15.5 million, or 39 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 40 cents. Sales rose 11.1% to $1.44 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.32 billion, as same-store sales growth of 10.3% beat expectations of a 1.0% rise. The company said same-store sales for the second quarter to date "are up strongly," as the acceleration in the business that started in mid-April has continued, but the trends are expected to moderate for the rest of the quarter. The company expects second-quarter EPS of 65 cents to 80 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of 24 cents. Separately, Big Lots declared a regular quarterly dividend of 30 cents a share, payable June 26 to shareholders of record on June 12. The stock has more than doubled (up 132%) over the past three months through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.6%.

Shares of Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) rose 9% in pre-market trading after the company reported Q1 results.Quarterly Results Earnings per share increased 36.96% year over year to $1.26, which beat the estimate of $0.32.Revenue of $1,439,000,000 up by 11.03% year over year, which beat the estimate of $1,310,000,000.Looking Ahead The company expects Q2 EPS of 65 cents to 80 cents.Conference Call Details Date: May 29, 2020Time: 08:00 AMView more earnings on BIGET Webcast URL: https://78449.themediaframe.com/dataconf/productusers/big/mediaframe/38255/indexl.htmlTechnicals Company's 52-week high was at $40.1052-week low: $10.12Price action over last quarter: Up 144.78%Company Profile Big Lots Inc is a U.S.-based company principally engaged in operating discount retail stores. The company provides a broad range of merchandise, including food, consumables, soft home products, hard home products, furniture, electronics and accessories, and seasonal products. The company sources the merchandise from traditional and close-out channels. In addition to merchandise, the company sells gift cards, issues merchandise credits, and more. The company operates stores throughout the United States, with around one third of its stores in California, Texas, Ohio, and Florida.See more from Benzinga * Stocks That Hit 52-Week Highs On Thursday * Stocks That Hit 52-Week Highs On Wednesday * Stocks That Hit 52-Week Highs On Tuesday(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) today reported net income of $49.3 million, or $1.26 per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 ended May 2, 2020. This result compares to adjusted net income of $37.0 million, or $0.92 per diluted share (non-GAAP), for the first quarter of fiscal 2019. As a reminder, on March 30, 2020 the company withdrew its previously communicated guidance for fiscal 2020 as a result of the uncertainty stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) announced today it will report the results for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 on Friday, May 29, 2020. The company will host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 29 to discuss Q1 results. Big Lots will host a live webcast through the Investor Relations section of its website at http://www.biglots.com/corporate/investors/. An archive will be available on the Investor Relations section of the company's website at http://www.biglots.com/corporate/investors/ through midnight Friday, June 12, 2020. In addition, a replay of the call will be available through June 12 by dialing 877.660.6853 (Toll Free) or 201.612.7415 (Toll) and enter the Replay Conference ID: 13703921.